Overview & Reviews

Acura is an upscale automaker known for offering cars with impressive levels of luxury, features and performance. It's come a long way in a short time, however, as the history of Acura is relatively brief. Parent company Honda introduced the Acura brand to the U.S. market in 1986 in an effort to create a separate luxury division for its products. At first, it was just a two-car show: the Legend sedan, which was the first true Japanese luxury car sold in America, and the Integra sport coupe and sedan.

Though essentially a marketing creation for the North American market, the Acura brand was immediately successful. Consumers liked the features, performance and upscale image of Acura cars, along with the fact that Acuras were backed by Honda's reputation for reliability and low ownership costs. In 1991, Acura introduced its crown jewel: the all-aluminum NSX sports car, which offered performance close to that of other exotic cars while undercutting them in price.

As Acura's product line grew in the 1990s, however, the company struggled a bit. Some of its products were duds, and it risked alienating loyal customers when it replaced the Legend and Integra names with alphanumeric designations. The company jumped on the hot luxury SUV bandwagon in the mid-'90s with the SLX. Unfortunately, the SLX was just a rebadged version of an Isuzu SUV, and its quality did not match customers' expectations.

For the new millennium, Acura revamped its product range. An all-new SUV called the MDX debuted, sporting numerous family-friendly features, including a third-row seat. The Integra was replaced with the RSX sport coupe, and an all-new entry-level sport sedan called the TSX was introduced after that. A complete redesign of its most popular model, the midsize TL sedan, followed, as did a redesign of its flagship RL luxury sedan.

By mid-decade the NSX was gone, but Acura filled out its model lineup with the street-performance-oriented RDX compact crossover, the TSX wagon and the ZDX, a fastback-styled crossover that placed unique styling over practicality. Today Acura is still trying to find its ideal niche but there's no denying the quality of Acura's vehicles, nor their appealing mix of performance, technology and value.

User Reviews:

• 

  Nimble Family-first car - 2009 Acura RDX
  By Disloquitor - January 26 - 2:23 pm

  Came off of an A6 4.2 lease, wanted to downsize and have more fun, while allowing my middle-aged body to lift the children into the rear car seats without back break. High center of gravity concerns moot at anything up to 7/10ths driving (i.e. public roads) because of flat cornering and absorbing suspension. (Absorbing as in GTI, not Buick.) Also useful in deeper snow. Its not a sports car or sedan, but its a a brilliant urban/suburban commuter, actually fun on a twisty parkway. Seats are surprisingly good. Tighter body structure on rough roads than an X3, no Audi suspension crash. No Audi interior, leather or BMW brakes or steering either, but not enough difference to justify $15K

• 

  A very reliable but fun car - 1999 Acura CL
  By Ian S. - January 25 - 2:03 pm

  I bought my 1999 CL 2.3 because I needed something reliable coming from a BMW. Unfortunately, my CL was in poor condition, but I got a great deal on it. To my surprise, it was in excellent mechanical condition. A little bit of elbow grease quickly brought its appearance back to life. The first thing I noticed was the excellent quality of the paint and interior materials. I couldnt believe how resilient the leather and carpet was. The paint is beautiful after some heavy buffing and the car looks new after a thorough cleaning! Mechanically, I have had zero problems. The transmission shifts smooth and engine sounds like new. I would highly recommend this car.

• 

  Disappointed - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Jonny - January 25 - 10:01 am

  I had an 07 TSX and I regret trading it in for the the 09. The redesigned interior turns out to be a mess compared to the well organized cabin of the 07. It seems like Acura wanted the 09 to be more like a Beemer or Benz, but couldnt deliver a the lower price point.

• 

  Love my Integra - 2000 Acura Integra
  By Dave - January 24 - 10:42 am

  Ive been driving for over 30 years and owned many cars and this is easily my favorite. Its fun to drive and when I wash and wax it up it looks great. The car is nine years old with 106k miles and yet it is still tight and everything works. Just had the timing belt changed ($700) and plan on keeping this baby for several more years.

• 

  Great car, poor fuel efficiency but ... - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Ivan - January 23 - 12:22 pm

  All in all, a great car. I am happy with my purchase. Theres a 3rd row of seats which neatly folds down invisibly which is why I bought it. There are a lot of automatic extras like auto headlights and wipers and rear-view mirrors that dip when reversing that make owning this car a real joy. The MDX is also deceptively spacious and sits tall however handles well. Performance is not an issue either but fuel economy kind of is. At an average 13 MPG in the city, youd think you were driving a GM. Aside from fuel efficiency (or lack thereof), this is a great family vehicle that looks great even sans-family. The 3rd row is invisible when not in use and its a Honda so you know its reliable.

• 

  really expensive honda accord - 2004 Acura TL
  By meemee - January 21 - 2:00 am

  Does not have the sport of my last acura, integra GSR. First to second shift is notchy, does not spool up as quickly. Stereo is great, but other than that cant justify its 34k price tag.

• 

  Trying to love it! - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Diana - January 14 - 3:42 pm

  I recently traded my 04 TL for the 09 TSX and I am not yet convinced I made the right choice. I chose the new TSX because the new body style somewhat resembled my old TL which I absolutely loved. Also, the TSX had great gas mileage and the price with lots of accessories was unbeatable. However,I miss the power of my old car! The TSX takes a bit longer to get going after you accelerate. The ride is not as smooth as my other Acura. Also, although the design is much bigger, it still lacks leg room in the back seat. The old TLs still had more room. All being said, I do love the look of the new TSX and I am sure I will enjoy it more as the time passes. Saving $ on gas alone is a big plus!

• 

  Still running - 2002 Acura TL
  By TomB - January 14 - 3:33 pm

  196,000 miles. Last week go 29 mph in very cold conditions, often get 30 and always 25+ even in town. Front brakes @ 89K, rears at 112K, but 4 transmissions, all paid by Acura cheerfully with loaner car for each 3 day repair. Great car but boring and I told dealer never another until they fix the trans. New Acura still has 5 spd that wont hold 1st or 2nd. 2009 is too ugly, so I am waiting or going Genesis or 328 BMW. Too bad, as I would love to buy from them again.

• 

  1200 Miles and Happy - 2005 Acura RL
  By FlyBye - January 9 - 8:06 am

  This car is a great value for the money. This car has the best paint job around (body is hand sanded before paint). The acceleration of 6.7 seconds to 60 is fine for day to day driving. Brakes are good but a bit "grabby" when nearing to a complete stop. Tech features such as navigation, XM Radio, Voice Control, etc. are awesome! The RL has to have one of the best factory sounds systems on the road-especially when playing DVD- A in 5.1 channel surround. Interior ergonomics are excellent overall. This car just fits in every way. The steering wheel mounted shift paddles are too slow for me however. I added the color coded mud flaps and spoiler. To top it off, AWD and 5 star safey rating.

• 

  Not worth the money - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Bill - January 7 - 11:08 am

  Problems galore - AWD problems 2 times - Wouldnt start due to AWD problems - replaced DVD player 3 times - side dash panels replaced 2 times - seats losing color after 20k miles - replaced batter after 12k miles - front rotors warped after 10k miles. I was a lover of Acura, they have really changed in quality for the price.